Water Under the Bridge
by rememberme9
Summary: There's always more than meets the eye.


It was really dark, the kind of dark that seems to have never seen the light of day, just a permanent blanket of night. Bella was confused. She didn't remember putting off the light. In fact, the last thing she remembered was leaving the bar. Had she really had that much to drink?

Wait, this couldn't be her room; there was always light pouring into the window, anytime of day. She shared a window with 3rd Avenue, and the Sleepy's sign across the street always lit up her window. She realized this place had no windows. Nope, definitely not her room.

Where the hell was she?

Bella tried to move her head; she didn't think she could have overindulged too much because her mind was surprisingly clear. Her arms though, appeared to be cramped; she couldn't move them at all. Oh wait. She was tied up. What was hell?

As Bella struggled to figure out what was going on, she heard a soft, but very masculine groan.

Shit.

No, no, no. She was sure she hadn't gone home with someone, and why would she be tied up in any case. Bella continued to move her arms around, trying to understand the current circumstances. That's it, she thought, I'm never going out with Alice and Rose again.

She heard a quiet "What in the bloody hell?" and nodded in agreement even though she knew he couldn't see her face.

Bella continued to rack her memory, trying to remember anything, anything at all, after she left the bar last night. She remembered walking outside and sitting down at the bench down the corner to wait for the bus. Then she flashed back to a very attractive man walking towards her, he was blond and somewhat dangerous looking, but Bella kept on staring. He said something to her and smirked widely. Bella couldn't remember what he said, but remembered the flash of his hand near her face and then nothing.

Shit. Bella started freaking out. If that was the last thing she remembered how in the world had she ended up here. Tied up. It finally hit her; she hadn't come here last night. She had been brought here.

She rolled around trying to figure out if her cell phone was still in her pocket, quiet tears were now starting to escape the confines of her eyes and she realized that she didn't have her phone; in fact, she didn't recognize the fabric on her legs as the denim of the jeans she had been wearing last night. It was then that Bella realized that it was possible that she could die, and she starting sobbing quietly, completely at a loss for what to do.

A quiet, velvety voice interrupted her sobs. She had completely forgotten about the person that she was apparently sharing a bed with.

"Please don't cry. Please. We'll get out of here. I promise."

Huh?

Bella stopped blubbering enough to get the words out, "What? Who are you?"

"I'm Edward, I already know you're Bella."

What does he mean he knows who I am, what in the lord's name is going on here, and when did my life become an episode of the Twilight Zone?

The man, or Edward, seemed to want to give me some time to think or whatever because he didn't offer any more insight into the increasingly bizarre situation that we were currently in. I wasn't sure how to ask the questions without being rude, but considering my already precarious mental state, it didn't really matter that much so I took a chance.

"Umm, what the hell is going on here? Like where am I? And who are you? Not like, what's your name, like who are you and why are we here? Where is this place?"

Turns out that I had a lot of questions. Who could blame me?

This Edward character seemed to think that my endless questioning was funny for a minute and then realized that I was about to start sobbing again because of my increasingly labored breathing.

"Bella, I'm not really sure where we are, I've been here for a couple weeks, and I'm a journalist and I think I've been kidnapped because of a rather risqué article I've been gathering research on the past couple of months. I'm pretty sure you've been captured too, although only you would be able to find out why the Volturi seem to think you need to be held captive. I'm really sorry that you're here, even though it is nice to have someone to talk to. I almost forgot that I had a voice because of how little I've been using it." Edward said trying to answer all my questions.

He seemed too calm talking about his kidnapping. Almost like he had been kidnapped and that was just something that he had to deal with. A minor obstacle, that's all.

My mind was in shock. I couldn't even manage to order my brain to close my mouth. The crying had momentarily stopped and I just struggled to focus on the meaning of the words coming out of his mouth. He was delusional according to me. Absolutely ridiculous. And what did he mean I had pissed Volturi off? What is Volturi?

"You ok? Bella…" Edward murmured softly.

Before I had time to respond a door cracked open and a small amount of artificial light filtered into the room. My head swiveled in the direction of the noise and I saw a tall man entering the room. My eyes narrowed in an attempt to focus on his figure.

" Oh, look at that, her highness woke up." A voice said in a quiet and dangerous tone.

It was the face of the guy I had seen yesterday, the guy at the bus stop. What was he doing here?

"Ok. So I'm bored." The guy came over to me and leaned in towards me. Too close. I could feel his breath on my face.

"Too bad," he whispered, shaking his head, "Stupid self-righteous son of a bitch."

My mind was reeling, who, what bastard?

Then I remembered Edward. He was turned towards me, his eyes also narrowed at James, no doubt trying to figure out his motives.

Even in the midst of all the bad things that were happening to me. All the things that I couldn't yet grasp. All the things that couldn't, that shouldn't be real, I hoped that this was. From disheveled hair to beautiful green eyes. I hoped with everything in me that he was real, closing my eyes as I did. I realized as I closed my eyes that silent tears were leaking out. What was going to happen to me?

I turned to Edward, with wide eyes and my mouth open. Apparently, that's what I was going for today, a fly-catcher.

"What the hell was that?" I asked.

He just shook his head, "James is a crazy asshole, you'll get used to it."

"GET USED TO IT? I'd really rather not be planning my stay here. In case you haven't noticed the accommodations aren't exactly five-star. And I don't even know why I'm here. What good does kidnapping me do? I just don't understand. And what did he mean, who's a bastard?"

Edward just chuckled softly, "don't worry, I barely understand James. I really wouldn't stress too…"

Something in my expression must have made him stop. He was looking at me and I didn't know what to think. Did I look like I was scared? I had no idea how to arrange my face into a neutral expression.

"Listen, Bella, I know this is a lot to take in, believe me. But when you're ready I think we should talk about why the Volturi may want you. We just need to figure out what it is they want from you, maybe if we do, we can get you out."

I felt his hand drawing circles on my arm in order to calm me and realized I was in more danger than even he realized.


End file.
